The top reported proficiency rate is 56% in English language arts. The lowest is 25% in Math.
Original Research by School Decision on Northport High School
Northport High School serves grades nine through twelve as a regular public school in the Northport School District, located in the very small rural town of Northport, Washington, less than eight miles from the Canadian border along the Columbia River. The town, a former railway hub and smelter center, has a population that is growing very slowly and remains a small residential community with limited local commerce and no identified major employers today. The district itself, according to publicly reported information, has not had recent high-impact changes such as referendums, major curriculum shifts, or property-tax measures that would reshape a family’s decision. The picture of the high school is one of a very small, close-knit setting where the academic numbers offer a mixed read.
The school’s enrollment is small for a high school, with roughly ten students in the entering ninth grade and declining through the upper grades. The student body is predominantly white, with a small Hispanic share and even smaller shares of students identifying as two or more races or as Native Hawaiian or Pacific Islander. A substantial share of students qualify for free or reduced-price lunch, reflecting the economic character of the community, which sits below national income benchmarks. No data was available on the share of students receiving special education services or those who are English learners, so a parent may want to ask the school directly about those support populations.
State testing results are available from the school year ending in 2021 and show a clear pattern. In math, about a quarter of eighth graders tested at the proficient level or above on the SBAC assessment, which is a low share. In English language arts, more than half of the same cohort scored proficient or above, a notably stronger result. The overall proficiency index across tested subjects and grades places the school above the midpoint relative to districts in Stevens County, meaning that when combining its math and ELA performance, it lands in the upper half of the county’s districts. A parent should note that these results come from a single grade level for a single school year and that the cohort was very small, so year-to-year swings can be large. More recent science testing data for the school year ending in 2025 shows a much higher proficiency rate among those tested, but this is a separate subject and a separate year; the available trend is too brief to draw a conclusion about direction.
The school’s course offerings, staffing ratios, discipline rates, and chronic absenteeism data were not available in the provided information. No graduation rate was reported, and because the data does not indicate why, a reader should understand that this often reflects the nature of a very small school where a single year’s rate may be suppressed for privacy or not calculated for certain small cohorts. A parent would want to confirm the school’s on-time graduation rate directly.
Housing in Northport’s zip code is modestly priced relative to the state as a whole, with values well below Washington’s benchmark. For a family weighing a move to the area, the town offers a quiet, remote Columbia River setting with a historical society and access to Lake Roosevelt, but with minimal commercial services and a long drive to Spokane. The school is the only high school in the district, so for families in the area, it is the default pathway through the upper grades. The peer environment is very small, with a graduating class likely smaller than a dozen students, which can be a strong fit for a student who thrives in a small group but offers limited social scale. The academic pathway is one where literacy results look solid for this community but mathematics attainment is a soft spot that a family would want to discuss with the school’s staff.
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